Torture Me Sweetly
by raeganb123
Summary: Mira loves Blue, but his curse felt like a weight on her chest, slowly suffocating her and drowning her in despair. Was love really worth this pain, this knowledge that one day her boyfriend could become her murderer? The all access key to the Dream seemed to taunt her, mock her, for being a stupid girl in love. She wouldn't have these problems if she had just chosen Freddie.
1. Chapter 1: regrets

**Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross. **

**Torture Me Sweetly  
>a Kill Me Softly fanfiction<strong>

Panic set in the moment after Blue had left her, a slightly less cursed boy than before. She held the all access key to the Dream, exactly alike to the one Felix had given her, and with the same ultimatum. She had gone into Suite 3013, and she had barely escaped with her life. Now she was tempting fate with accessing the only key that would open to Suite 3024 and falling to the wrath of Blue killing her in cold blood, very violently and very painfully. A weight settled on her chest as she realized that she had just entered into a relationship with Felix's, her attempted murderer's, little brother, the boy that loved her who could turn into a murdering psychopath if she set one foot into his secret suite.

Flashes of being pinned down and the life being sucked out of her by Felix entered her mind. The helplessness she had felt, the hope that had been ripped from her when she realized there was no escape. It fell down to one choice. Death or her sleeping curse? She had a lot of faith in Freddie, but if she died then his curse would be finite and it wouldn't be active anymore. He didn't have to worry about her falling into a 100 year sleep if she was dead. But then she thought of how excited he was to be her knight in shining armor, sword catalog and all.

This time around, there was no sleeping curse to fall back on. Was she willing to risk her life by being with Blue? She loved him, as much as her sixteen-year-old self could, but was it enough to still be holding this key in her hand, knowing that her boyfriend could become her murderer in a few seconds. Mirabelle wasn't sure if she could escape the Valentines' curse this time around.

But she had given her word, given her love, given her birthday wish, so there was no turning back.

* * *

><p>Mira had given up on ever getting a good night sleep ever again. Her godmothers had tried elixirs, herbal teas, and all the spells they could think of, but panic and stress defeated them all.<p>

Her dreams turned into nightmares of Blue slitting her throat, repeatedly hitting her with an axe, torturing her with Freddie's sword. And the all access room key seemed to mock her where it was locked in a box at the back of her closet. She'd wake up from the nightmares and just stare into the blackness of her closet, knowing that the actual key to her death was in there, taunting her as if to say _Stupid girl, your love is making you blind. Do you want to die by the hands of your love? Felix was nearly successful, and Blue doesn't have a backup plan if you ever walk into that room.__  
><em>

During the day though, she was completely at ease. Wrapped in Blue's strong arms, laughing at a joke Freddie had said or frowning at Viv when she tosses Henley out like garbage, she's realized she's never known a single group of people who can understand her like this insane collection of fairytale characters. Sometimes she caught Freddie staring at her and Blue as if he was in pain, and she knew that Caspian and Wills weren't very happy with her either. Everyone had expected her to fall into the waiting arms of her Honor-bound Prince Charming, and Frederick Knight was as princely as they came.

They had a connection, a weird tingly connection, whenever they touched. Wherever they touched felt like fire, as if being pleasantly wrapped in the warmth of the sun. And when they kissed, it was magical. Her and Freddie's kissing had broken a sixteen year old curse, that's how magical it was. But she'd always felt inferior to Freddie, not because he treated her like trash, but because of how good and wholesome and nice he was. She felt like a rotten piece of meat next to a filet mignon when she was next to her prince.

She had chosen Blue and all the consequences that this relationship came with. She had chosen his multiple personalities over Freddie's sweet disposition, his anger and wrath over Freddie's sweetness, his bullheadedness over Freddie's calm demeanor.

But lately she'd been wondering if she had made the right choice.

She loved Blue, and she didn't love Freddie. But she despised Blue's curse, and loved Freddie's, mostly because his "curse" had been to make out with her and wake her up from being asleep. She had reservations about owing him, but she knew Freddie didn't look at it that way. He saw it as a way to save someone he cared about. He didn't expect anything from her in return, except for perhaps her love. But they had established even before the curse set in that she loved someone else. That someone had been Felix and one of the worst mistakes she's ever made. And then she'd found Blue, and she began to feel like she was repeating history.

Blue promised he'd never hurt her like Felix did, but his curse didn't give him a choice. She was the one who was in possession of the only key that opened into his secret bloody chamber, where the lifeless body of Jane was being kept, preserved eternally. Blue had loved her, and she had died. Blue now loved Mira.

Was she really such a masochist that she would put this pressure on herself? This pain? These nightmares? These death threats?

But then she'd get lost in Blue's warm eyes, sniff his scent, nuzzle his neck, kiss his uncursed lips, and forget all the dangers that being with him was.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Hello Kill Me Softly fans! Please don't stab me with pitchforks at the thought of your precious Blue and Mirabelle getting broken up! It's for a good cause, and it makes for quite a drama-filled adventure. This will be a multi-chapter, even though I know I'm going to regret saying that. I'm in the middle of one Glee story and I have another one on hiatus, but I'm as much a masochist as Mira is, and I'm allowing this pain to happen. Happy reading! Review and tell me what you think!**

**Raegan**


	2. Chapter 2: collect

**Torture Me Sweetly  
><strong>**Chapter Two**

Freddie kept catching her eye more and more. The longer she was in her relationship with Blue, the more she was drawn to Freddie. She tried to push these feelings away. She had chosen Blue, chosen him over everything, and there was no reason to go back on her decision now.

But then Freddie would walk by, and she would watch him leave. And the all access key seemed to be haunting her with the amount of time she spent thinking about it. Sometimes she felt it in her pocket, and she would rip through her pockets to find that it was just a crumpled wad of dollar bills.

Blue seemed to be oblivious to her unease, always trying to kiss her now that he wasn't cursed. He just wanted to spend time with her, and she always tried to hold back her feelings of despair and go along with him. If he kissed her, she kissed him back. If he asked her to hang out, she enthusiastically agreed. He was her boyfriend, not Freddie, and she tried to be the dutiful girlfriend to him.

Compared to Blue's obliviousness, Freddie was insightful. Whenever she began feeling hopeless while hanging out with Blue, Freddie would always look at her as if seeing into her soul. He'd raise one of his eyebrows questioningly and pucker his lips when she'd shake her head to tell him she was fine. He never believed her and always seemed to see through her bullshit.

But then he'd let it go and become the always-happy nicest-boy-in-town again, reverting from seriousness to silliness really quickly, so that Mira was the only one who noticed the shift.

Mira was drowning more and more in her despair lately, and not even Blue's kisses could stop the outpouring of fear when it came to the Dream and Blue's secret suite that held a dead Jane and that might someday contain, if she continued heading down this road, a dead Mirabelle right next to her. Relationships shouldn't be this stressful or dangerous to be in.

And then she'd catch Freddie's eye again.

* * *

><p>Mira, Blue, Freddie, Jewel, Rafe, and Henley were all hanging out at Rafe's mansion. Henley was pouting and being his usual down-in-the-dumps self because his fairytale princess had been caught in bed with another dude. His rage was right under his skin, festering like a sore. He downed beer after beer, trying to take the edge off, but alcohol usually just made him more angry. Mira stood up and walked over to him when no one else would. She sat down next to him and pulled the beer from his tight grasp. She reached over and unclenched his fist for him and brushed her fingers over his forehead, smoothing out the creases.<p>

"I'm fine," Henley said gruffly, looking down at the ground as if fascinated by the marble flooring.

Mira just gave him a disbelieving snort and shook her head. "No, you're not. And to be honest, you deserve way better. If she wants to sleep around and try to "live" before her curse sets in, fine. But she shouldn't drag you into it. You deserve a girl who's going to put you first and treat you how you actually should be treated. You're not a toy, you're a human being."

He bumped his shoulder against hers. "I know, but it's more complicated than that."

She placed her hand on his drooping shoulder and squeezed. "Isn't everything? You're obsessed with her, and you're an important part of her curse, but you aren't meant for each other. She has a prince out there somewhere, maybe not even born yet, who's going to wake her from her curse, and then she'll dump you again. You need to go out there, make yourself available, and find someone who doesn't treat you like garbage. You're way more than a gardener, and if she can't see that, well, screw her."

Henley gave out a self-deprecating laugh. "That's exactly what I want to do."

Mira laughed. "Oh shush. I'm going to set you up with someone. I'm going to search all of Beau Rivage for the one for you. Maybe even someone not cursed, someone who doesn't see you as Viv's lapdog. Okay?"

Henley just sighed and looked down at the ground again. "I know I'm going to regret this, but okay."

Mira clapped her hands together excitedly, hugged Henley unexpectedly, and left Rafe's mansion in search of a girl who could make Henley happy.

* * *

><p>Before she could make her way further down the street, she heard her name being called. She stopped and turned, only to find herself facing a panting Freddie.<p>

"Mind if I come with?" Freddie asked, his voice breathy from panting.

Mirabelle looked everywhere but at Freddie's heaving chest, his muscles showing through his tight shirt. She tried to come up with any excuse that could actually work but she drew a blank. She began repeating Blue's name in her head like a mantra. Keep calm, she thought to herself. Freddie's your prince but not your boyfriend.

Mira just shrugged and tilted her head forward, giving him permission to continue on his way with her.

When they ran across a crying girl on the corner, Freddie, being Freddie, walked up to her and asked her what's wrong. The girl just sniffled and stood up, walking away and saying "You wouldn't understand."

As she walked, her loose blouse pulled away from her back, showing to Mira and Freddie the heart on her lower back, a fist-sized tattoo-looking heart that was almost exactly like Blue's and Felix's.

Mira just shook her head and grabbed the girl's arm to pull her back. "You're cursed. Don't worry, so were we." Mira lifted the back of her shirt, showing the wheel on her back to this stranger.

The girl looked at Mira's blemished skin in shock. "Were?"

Mira rolled her eyes and looked at a proud Freddie. Mira tilted her head in Freddie's direction and smirked. "My prince here woke me from my curse with a kiss. He had a sword and everything."

The girl stared them down, as if trying to decide if they were lying or not. "The Sleeping Beauty curse thing, huh? Well at least you don't have to worry about it anymore. Now you're both in your happily ever after honeymoon phase, right?"

Mira coughed uncomfortably and looked anywhere except at Freddie. Freddie stared at Mira imploringly, but she wouldn't look him in the eye. "We've decided to stay friends, actually," Mira said quietly.

Under his breath, both girls heard Freddie murmur that she was the one who decided, not him, causing Mira to blush and the other girl to look at them with interest.

"My curse is a little more complicated than you guys' though," the girl said after a long pause of silence. "I'm Blair by the way."

Mira smiled at Blair. "Mirabelle, but you can call me Mira. And this is Prince Frederick, sword wielder and curse breaker."

Freddie blushed and scuffed his tennis shoe against the concrete. "Most people just call me Freddie, though."

Blair looked between Mira and Freddie as if she was reading an interesting story. "Again, your curse is straightforward. Mine is different."

Mira stared the girl down in defiance. "I'm dating Blue Valentine and used to date his brother Felix. You want to talk about difficult curses? Then let's talk."

Blair's eyes widened in what looked like disbelief. "Both of them? And you're still... here?" She stuttered over the word that all three were thinking. Alive.

Mira rolled her eyes. "I don't scare very easily. Now why don't we go have a chat about this curse that I won't have any understanding of?"

The trio walked into a tea shop called Down the Rabbit Hole. Mira ordered a chai tea while Freddie and Blair both ordered Earl Grey. Blair stared at the two over her plastic cup, before taking a deep breathe.

"I was cursed a few years ago, around age 12. We lived next door to a dark fairy, and I accidentally kicked my soccer ball into her backyard. When I went to go get it, she cursed me with a Romantic curse. She said every boy I would ever love would die right after they professed their love for me. My mom's best friend is a light fairy, so she called her over. Her name is Salya and she lightened my curse. She said they wouldn't die, they would just fall out of love with me. Until I find the boy who can empathize with me, I will forever be cursed. Salya said that if the boy who empathizes with me is also cursed, I might be able to break his curse when he breaks mine. But I don't have hope that anything like that will ever happen, so I try to stay as far away from relationships as I possibly can."

Mira and Freddie locked eyes and had a silent conversation. "Henley," they seemed to whisper to each other, but neither made a sound. If they could get Henley to empathize with this girl, he'd be free from Viv. Then Blair could fall in love with whoever they wanted and Henley could stoop being an obsessed Viv-stalker.

Mira looked up at a sad-looking Blair. "Blair? I have an idea."

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Let's break Henley free from Viv's ungrateful grasp, shall we? Thanks to the four reviewers for letting me know their thoughts about chapter one. I know not a lot of people read Kill Me Softly fanfictions, but I'm really enjoying writing this and isn't that what it's all about? See y'all soon!  
>Raegan<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: like

**Torture Me Sweetly  
><strong>**Chapter Three**

Mira and Blair were sitting on Elsa's favorite plush couch drinking iced coffee when Henley exploded into the house, his eyes filled with a fury that frightened Mirabelle. He grabbed at his hair, looking like he was trying to pull it out, before he collapsed onto the carpet. Mira screamed and rushed over, not knowing what was wrong with him. His eyes seemed to be moving from behind his closed eyelids, as if he was having a vivid dream.

Dream, Mira thought, thinking about the hotel and casino. When she thought about the Dream, she thought about Blue's suite. Mira shook her head. Now is not the time to be thinking about _that _situation when she had _this _situation with Henley to deal with. She screamed for Blair to call 911 as she tried to wake Henley up. Mira noticed something in his hand, so she unwrapped his fingers from their tight grip, grabbing at the uncovered piece of paper. Loopy cursive filled the page up. It looked like some of the notes Viv's stepmother sent Henley to tell him what needed the most work in the gardens.

Mira read the paper quickly, scanning it for anything out of the ordinary. It was just a regular note, until you got to the last line.

**_And Henley, be a dear and rip Viv's heart from her chest. It's finally time to enact her curse. Won't she look marvelous in her glass case? Fingers crossed her prince will never come._**

Mirabelle stared at the note in disbelief. It was written casually, as though it was just another suggestion about the garden, not attempted murder. No wonder Henley was acting this way. He was fighting the urge to murder Viv!

Mira took out her cell phone and pressed Viv's contact name. She needed to be warned that her curse was near.

"Hello?" a sleepy Viv answered. She sounded so normal that it broke Mira's heart to think that she was taking away her calmness and safety.

"Viv, we've got problems. Your stepmother has asked Henley to cut out your heart, and he's collapsed, possibly from shock. The ambulance will be here any second, but look out for any poison apples. And please Viv, be careful."

"OHMYGOD," came from the receiver before the line went dead. Viv probably accidentally hung up in shock. Sirens were suddenly heard outside, and EMTs with a stretcher came through the open front door. They loaded him up gingerly, rapidly asking Mira and Blair questions as they were both herded into the ambulance along with Henley.

They both answered what they knew, leaving out his curse and the note from Viv's stepmother. When they finally arrived at Beau Rivage Regional Hospital, they were greeted at the front entrance by Bliss and Elsa, Mira's fairy godmothers and guardians. Mira hugged them both quickly, passing on the news that Viv's curse might be happening soon and that Viv's stepmom has already asked Henley to take her heart.

Blair and Mira were pulled from Bliss and Elsa and were herded into the empty waiting room. They were able to see glimpses of a sleeping Henley in his hospital bed from the small glass window in his door, but then the curtain was drawn and their view was cut off.

Mira began calling all of her friends, and soon the waiting room was crowded with cursed teenagers. Jewel was coughing up emeralds, which is what she usually did when she was worried or stressed. Rafe and Layla were actually being civil to one another, sitting down on two uncomfortable hospital chairs. Blue and Freddie were flitting around her worriedly, waiting for her to freak out or panic. Mira didn't have time to panic. She needed to find a way for Henley to empathize with Blair and break his curse. No curse, no attempted murder.

Once Henley was stabilized and the doctors cleared out, Blair and Mirabelle went into his small hospital room. He was hooked up to wires, and an oxygen mask was covering his nose and mouth. Mira took his cold hand and began to speak to him, hoping he could hear her.

"Henley, I spoke to Viv. She's still alive and awake, which means her curse hasn't been activated yet. And I know the last thing you want to do right now is to listen to a story you have no interest in, but I think it's for the best." Mira stared at a confused Blair before mouthing, 'Your curse.'

Blair raised her right eyebrow questioningly, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. Mira took a step back from the bed and allowed Blair to take Henley's hand in hers. "My curse is a Romantic one. At first, I was cursed so that every boy who professed their love for me would die, but then Salya, a light fairy, softened it. Now, every boy who professes his romantic love for me instantly falls out of love with me. So yeah, Henley, I know what it's like to sometimes be loved and then to be immediately dumped like yesterday's garbage. I know what it's like for people to say they care about you and then go back on their word. I know how hard it is to hold yourself back from people just because you don't think you're good enough. But hanging out around our friend Mirabelle has shown me that we're not just placeholders for other people's curses. We're our own people and we deserve to be loved like anyone else." Blair took a deep breath to calm herself before finishing her speech. "My name is Blair Allard, and I empathize with you."

Henley sat up in bed, deep breaths filling up his lungs. He ripped the oxygen mask away and stared at Blair in wonder. He stared at her as if drinking her in, and she blushed under his scrutiny.

Henley looked over at Mira and grinned, which is something that no one had seen before. "Mira, I'm free!"

Mira turned him over onto his side and stared at his exposed back, but still saw the mark of the Huntsman. "I don't understand," Mira whispered. "How can you be free but still be the Huntsman?"

Henley shook his head and clarified. "I'm not free from my Huntsman curse, I'm free from my obsession with Viv. I was blinded by her beauty and all her alluring qualities and failed to see how horribly she treated me. She doesn't deserve me, I know that now."

A wolf whistle sounded from the doorway, and all the teenagers who were out in the waiting room now crowded into the hospital room.

Blue walked up and clapped Henley on the shoulder. "Well done, dude. Finally you see through her disguise."

Jewel hugged him before handing him a pile of deep green emeralds. "These belong to you, Hen. I was really worried there for a second."

Mira cleared her throat and got everyone's attention. "Maybe we should all leave Henley and let him get some rest. He did have a panic attack just over an hour ago." As everyone filed out the doorway, Mira grabbed Blair's arm. "Not you, B. I think you should stay with him."

Blair leaned in close and whispered to Mira so that no one would overhear. "When Henley woke up, my Heart sizzled and felt like it was burning. I think my curse is broken, but I'm not for sure."

Mira nodded understandingly. "I'll get Bliss and Elsa and ask them to check it out. They'll know if it's broken or not for sure. Be right back."

* * *

><p>Blair cautiously approached Henley's bed. "Uh, hi there."<p>

Henley stared at her. "Hey Blair."

Blair bit her bottom lip in nervousness. "I'm sorry that I used you to break my curse, getting you to empathize with me like that. Mira thought that you were one of the only people who could Curse-wise truly understand me."

Henley gave her a closed-mouth grin. "Trust me, I understand you. And I would have done the same thing, because I do empathize with you." Henley placed his hand over hers. "I wanted to thank you, Blair Allard, for breaking my curse."

Blair blurted out, "But I didn't break your curse! You're still the Huntsman."

Henley shook his head and smiled. "Not that curse. My curse for letting me stay in an abusive relationship. I was her plaything. I was nothing to her while she was everything to me. And you broke me free of that restraint. So thank you."

Blair shrugged. "Honestly, it was all you. So stop thanking me."

Henley smiled and squeezed her hand. "So I was wondering, now that I've broken free of my curse, would you like to go out sometime? We could go to a movie or get some dinner or something. You know, if you wanted."

Blair smiled at the gardener. "I'd like that."

* * *

><p>Mira smiled in delight at her guardians. "So her curse is broken, just like that?"<p>

Elsa nodded. "Just like that. Salya is the best at softening curses. She has a way with words that could practically unbind any magic spell. Blair can finally allow others to love her, and I think the Huntsman might be the first one to give it a try."

Bliss squeezed Mira's shoulder affectionately. "Clever idea, Mira, about getting the Huntsman to see that him and Blair aren't so different after all. You are one of the most quick-witted teenagers I've ever met."

Mira shrugged and smiled at her godmothers. "I learned from the best."

"We know," Bliss and Elsa agreed at the same time. The family of three left the hospital and returned to their home. Mira sent a text to Blair saying that her curse was definitely broken.

But when they arrived at the house, Mira was startled by the sight of Viv sitting on her front porch.

"Viv? Are you all right?" Mira asked curiously.

Viv shook her head. "All this time, I've been waiting for my Honor-Bound prince to come save the day. I've pictured what he looks like, what he sounds like, how he'd save me. But it was all such a sick joke."

Mira became confused. She sat down next to Viv on her front steps. "Joke? Viv, you found your prince?"

Viv looked despairingly at the ground. "I was asleep, Mira. My stepmother force-fed me a poisoned grape. Not an apple, but a stupid grape. And what's the face I wake up to? A six-year-old boy's!"

Mira gasped and tried to hold back her giggles. "Your savior was a little kid?"

Viv frowned. "Jace is no savior. My stepmother found him and brought him to me. He was the only Honor-Bound prince with an apple on his lower back exactly like mine. I've never seen any other guy with the same marking as me. When you and Freddie found each other, I hoped that my guy was just lost like yours. But no, mines a kindergartner who can barely string together a sentence. And when I woke up, my dad asked me if I could put all this behind me and get along with my stepmother now. Can you believe it?"

Mira didn't know what to say. Even her curse wasn't this bizarre, and she'd had to cut herself on a razor blade to save herself from being murdered by her cursed boyfriend who was sucking the life out of her through his kissing. She began to rub soothing circles on Viv's back. "It's over with now, Viv. You don't have to worry about your curse anymore. It was quick and painless, and you don't even have the option of being with your six-year-old prince. Neither of us have to worry about eternal sleep anymore, Viv. Isn't this your dream come true?"

Viv sighed. "I guess. Just not how I imagined it playing out, you know?" She sighed in despair again. "I can't be around my dad or my poisoning step-mother. Could I stay here tonight?"

Mira nodded and began pulling her into the house. "Sure, of course. Stay as long as you'd like. You want me to invite Layla over and make it a girls' night?"

Viv shook her head and stared down at the ground. "Not tonight, please. I just really want to rest."

Mira led Viv to her bedroom and they both crawled into the queen-sized bed. As she shut the lamp off, she patting Viv comfortingly on the shoulder. "Sweet dreams, Viv."

Viv rolled over and gave her a reluctant smile. "Have a peaceful sleep, Mirabelle."

* * *

><p><strong>AN- The two girls destined for eternal sleep are having a sleepover. Ironic, huh? Enjoy the chapter? Are you glad Henley's free from Viv's clutches? And what do you think about the Henley/Blair situation? Leave a review and let me know!  
>Raegan<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: old

**Torture Me Sweetly  
><strong>**Chapter Four**

I woke up to birds chirping outside my window. I groaned at the cliche before turning to face a wide-awake Viv.

"Everything okay?" I asked her, knowing that the answer was probably no.

Viv rested her head on the pillow and angled her body to face me. "I'm free but I still feel like I'm trapped, you know?"

Mira nodded. 'Trapped' was one of feelings she felt on a daily basis. "Come on, let's go to Rafe's, go swimming, and relax."

Viv shook her head vehemently. "No, Mira, I can't. I can't see Henley right now. I've realized how much I've... how much I've hurt him. I'm the one who turned him into a violent obsessive stalker. I'm bad for him. He shouldn't be near me."

Mira smiled lightly. "Well it's a good thing he's out on a date with someone else today, then, isn't it?"

Viv sat up from the bed, clutching the comforter to her chest. "He's dating someone else?"

Mira nodded, smiling. "He's supposed to get out of the hospital today, and him and Blair were gonna go out to dinner tonight."

Viv frowned. "Who's Blair?"

Mira found her cell phone and showed Viv a picture of her and Blair. "That's her. She was a cursed Romantic, but Henley broke her curse!"

Viv stared disbelieving at Mira. "How the hell did he break her curse? He's not an Honor-Bound prince. He's my Huntsman."

Mira just shrugged and ignored Viv's possessive 'my'. "The loophole was that Blair's curse would break if she found a guy who could empathize with her plight. After he collapsed and when he was in the hospital, Blair told Henley her story and he connected to her. So she's free from her curse and then he immediately asked her out. Don't worry about her Viv, she's awesome. And I think she'll be good for Henley."

Viv frowned before swinging out of the bed. "Well if he can move on quickly, then so can I. Maybe Freddie, now that we're both not cursed."

Mira's fists grabbed at her comforter when Viv mentioned Freddie. She clenched the fabric between her fingers, but tried to keep her face an indifferent mask. "So Rafe's house then?"

Viv smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Can I borrow a swimsuit?"

Mira nodded and handed her a mint green bikini with a big bow on the front. Mira slipped into her strapless pink-and-black-striped bikini and threw a long t-shirt over the top before beginning the decently-long walk to Rafe's mansion.

When they arrived, Rafe was still asleep but Freddie and Jewel were there to open the door for them. Freddie seemed to stare at Mira everywhere she went, much to the annoyance of Viv, who kept trying to unsuccessfully gain his attention. Mira sat down next to him and told him about Viv's plan to use him to move on from Henley. Freddie just shook his head and said that he didn't feel that way about Viv.

When Blue arrived, the first thing he noticed was Freddie and Mirabelle staring deeply into each others' eyes. He frowned before making his way over to them, interrupting their staring contest, both trying to express the things they couldn't say. And the reason of their silence was standing in front of them with a frown on his face.

Blue sat down in between Mira and Freddie, kissing her quickly on the cheek. "Morning, baby."

Mira looked over at Freddie for a second before turning to face Blue fully. "Morning, Blue."

Blue hollered across the room over to Viv, who was talking furiously on her cell phone. "Yo, Viv, I hear congratulations are in order? The curse is broken and all that?"

Viv stiffened before quickly hanging up and turning to face Blue. "Yep, I'm free. And I was only asleep for like 20 minutes."

Blue smirked and raised his glass of water up, as if in a toast. "So when can we meet the lucky boy?"

Viv frowned at him, knowing that he was egging her on. "In about twelve years when he turns 18."

Mira flinched at the coldness of Viv's voice. She quickly pulled Blue down and glared at him before he finally stopped mocking Viv.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Layla walked in, looking as if she'd be anywhere but here. "Morning everyone," she commented to her group of friends.

Mira smiled and made her way over to her. "I thought you swore that you'd never come here until you had to?"

Layla frowned before smirking at her. "This is a special occasion. Viv's curse is broken! That doesn't just happen every day you know?" Mira smirked at the irony, thinking about Blair's curse being broken just yesterday as well.

Mira was sitting on a lawn chair out by the pool trying to catch a tan when a shadow loomed over her. She opened her eyes only to see a serious-looking Freddie. "Can we talk for a second?" Freddie asked politely.

Mira nodded and they walked off to the small garden of roses with a bench that Mira had found on one of her first times here. They sat down, and Freddie continued to stare at her.

"What did you want to talk about?" Mira asked curiously, wondering what Freddie was being so secretive about.

Freddie took a deep breath before smiling reassuringly at her. "My mom wanted to know if you'd be able to come over for dinner tomorrow night? She wants to get to know my Sleeping Beauty."

Mira blushed at the affectionate tone he used to talk about her. "I'd love to Freddie, but I'll have to ask Bliss and Elsa first and make sure they're okay with it. Will Caspian and Wills be there as well?"

Freddie frowned. "Actually, Caspian has signed up for swimming lessons after your suggestion, so tomorrow he's not going to be there for dinner."

Mira smiled. "That's great! Good for him. And how's Wills' detective case on finding his Cinderella?"

Freddie frowned. "No luck yet, and they're both a little jealous that I've already fulfilled my role in your curse. They're both older and they've been waiting longer than I have for their princesses. And they're both confused about why we're not having a happily ever after until I explained that you're dating Blue."

Mira looked down at the ground, looking everywhere but at Freddie. "Right, glad you cleared that up."

"Right." The duo fell into a silence that seemed unbreakable after the mention of Mira's boyfriend.

Mira thought of the locked up key that was in the back of her closet, the thing that never seemed to leave her mind anymore. And Suite 3024 seemed to always be on a continuous loop around her thoughts, forgetting the room number and then suddenly remembering with clarity the look of the door that she had passed by countless times without realizing what was behind it.

Jane. Blue's first love.

Mira felt strong hands shaking her out of her thoughts and heard Freddie calling her name. "Mira? Mira, are you all right?"

Mira shook her head and focused on the person in front of her. "Sorry, wandered off into thought."

Freddie frowned. "Whatever you were thinking about, you're scared of it. You looked terrified." He paused, probably trying to think about what could scare her. "Is it Felix? Is that who you're worried about?"

Mira shook her head no. "I haven't given him much thought lately. Actually I was thinking about... Jane."

A look of pain crossed Freddie's face. "Ah." He was staring at her, silently asking her to elaborate.

Mira looked around the deserted garden. "It's just, lately I've been worried that someday I'm going to end up like her."

Freddie's eyebrows scrunched together. "Blue's kisses can't kill you anymore though?"

Mira pursed her lips. "I know. But if I ever walk into that room, I'm never walking back out. I don't have another curse to fall back on, and lately I've been wondering if maybe... I don't know."

Freddie stared at her, his face half-hopeful half-sorrowful. "If maybe you made the wrong decision?"

Mira sighed and dejectedly stared at the ground. Freddie put his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

She had finally relaxed when she heard her name being called. Layla walked into the clearing and stopped at the sight of Freddie and Mira sitting closely together on the stone bench. She looked pensive, but moved toward them quickly. "No one could find you and everyone was getting worried."

Mira pulled her head up from Freddie's shoulder, and his arm fell away from her back. "Oh, sorry Layla. We've been here the whole time."

Freddie stood up suddenly, pulling Mira up with him. "Well we should get back then, because I don't want anyone to worry."

Mira read between the lines. He didn't want Blue to think they had snuck off together. The trio walked back to their group of friends in silence, all lost in their own thoughts. When they got to the pool, everyone fell silent.

Jewel stepped forward and hugged them both quickly. "Here's some pearls for both of you. We've all been really worried."

Mira smiled and put the pearls in her pocket. "We were just over in the rose garden place. Layla found us easily enough. You guys worry too much."

Rafe rubbed his eyes sleepily. "In a town like Beau Rivage, you can never be too careful."

Mira thought about Felix still being on the loose. "Right."

Viv tapped her wristwatch, telling Mira that it was time to go. "Well, we better be heading out," Viv called out to her friends as her and Mira headed towards the front door.

They made their way back to Bliss and Elsa's, trudging up to Mira's room and falling onto the bed when they made their way through the door. They both fell into a sleepy pile before taking a quick nap. Mira woke up to the doorbell ringing. Viv just rolled over and went back to sleep.

Mira walked down the stairs, pulling her long t-shirt down her thighs to try to fight the chill in the air. She opened the front door, but no one was there. She was about to shut the door when she heard a small squeak. Mira looked down, only to be shocked by the sight of a basket with a baby in it. The baby had a shock of blonde hair on it's head, and it looked tiny like a newborn. A sticky note was attached to the top blanket that was covering the baby. The note had a name written in blocky lettering. _**Arachne Bay** **Evansley. **_Mira slowly pulled the baby from the basket and pulled the pile of blankets away. She discovered the baby was a girl and turned her over.

Mira gasped when she caught sight of the little baby's back. There was a fist-sized shape taking up almost the entire baby's back.

The shape was a snowflake.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Y'all know where this is going, right? At first, I was going to have Mirabelle become pregnant, but I wasn't very fond of the idea. So bam, baby left on the doorstep cliche.**


	5. Chapter 5: friends

Baby Arachne never cried. That was the first thing Bliss and Elsa noticed about the little girl that was put into their charge.

Actually, no. The first thing the fairies noticed was the soul of the child, and the curse that was latched upon it. The child was a snow baby, cursed to have a frozen heart and the powers of ice. But strangely enough, she had another curse cast upon her, possibly by a dark fairy mad about not being able to curse the poor innocent thing. Arachne was "gifted" with the communication and control of spiders, perhaps the reason for her namesake or an ironic spell cast by a dark fairy. Mira and Viv shuddered when they heard this, picturing the baby having black, hairy spiders crawling all over her. Bliss and Elsa explained that it was a form of Freddie's talents with furry animals, except the girl would only be able to communicate with spiders. Snow and spiders, a double whammy.

Blair rushed over when she heard the news, along with an out of breath fairy named Salya, the same one who lightened Blair's curse.

"I can try to help the poor girl, but with so many bad things placed upon her, it could be difficult to unwind the dark magic wrapped around her," the new fairy explained to a worried Bliss and Elsa. Children were only placed in the care of fairy godmothers in the story of Sleeping Beauty, but this was an entirely new curse, one never before seen in Beau Rivage.

Only told of in the darkest of fairytale books, it tells of a girl who has the powers of ice, but who's heart slowly begins to freeze until she suddenly has a heart of ice and murders her entire family to take over the kingdom and become queen.

Salya holds her wand above Arachne and begins to chant. Mira prays to whatever god will listen, hoping that they'll help make the spell work.

A white light begins to shine out of Salya's wand and lands on the peacefully sleeping Arachne, making her look white as snow. "I ask to be able to lighten this child's load, her curses, her burdens. Arachne Bay Evansley, may your heart full of ice thaw at the hint of true love's kiss. One kiss and your ice shall melt. May you demonstrate control of your ice powers at an early age, preparing you for being aware and not accidentally hurting those you love and care for. May you only use your control over spiders for good uses and purposes, not for cruel jokes or pranks. May your Prince find you and save you little one, before all is too late."

An icy chill fills the room, washing over all in the little house. Mira shivers, and Bliss takes Elsa's hand. Salya bows her head, completely exhausted from the spell she just performed. Elsa escorts her to the guest bedroom, soon-to-be nursery of Arachne.

Mira picks the child up from her basket and rocks her with the utmost care, already falling hard for the cute, angelic face. "She going to be treated like a spoiled princess, all right. Arachne's such a mouthful. Any nickname suggestions?"

Blair steps around an upset Viv and comes up to Mirabelle and the baby. "Ari?"

Bliss pats Blair on the shoulder. "Ari is perfect."

Mira kisses the soft forehead of the sleeping child. "Welcome to the family, Ari. You're going to be well taken care of here, I promise."

* * *

><p>Mira wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling as though she's being watched. She rolls over to go back to sleep, shaking off the strange feelings she's having, when she catches sight of Blue sitting in her window nook through her mirror. She screams and jumps out of bed, startling Blue and making him crash to the floor.<p>

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mira shout-whispers, trying to not wake her godmothers or baby Ari.

Blue shrugs up at her from the hardwood floors. "Watching you sleep."

Mira frowns and takes a step away. "That's extremely creepy, Blue."

He makes his way slowly to his feet and snarls at her. "I bet you'd find it endearing if it was Freddie watching you sleep."

Her eyebrows crease together at his threatening tone. "Control yourself, Blue Valentine. And no, definitely not. I'd find it extremely creepy if he did it too."

Her boyfriend crosses his arms and stares at her through the dark. After a few moments of silence, he sighs and uncrosses his arms, letting them dangle at his sides. "Sorry Mare. I'm just really wound up right now."

Mirabelle raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "By staring at me during the night and accusing me of wanting Freddie to watch me sleep?"

Blue flinches at her cold tone. "My dad is sending me away to boarding school in England. He thinks that now that my curse is broken, I should have a real life, spent going to school and making non-cursed friends."

Mira's mouth opens in shocks. "It's because of your lightened curse, isn't it? This is all my fault!"

Blue laughs, startling Mira out of her self-blame. "Are you serious? You made my life worth living, Mirabelle. I finally got to kiss you without sucking the life out of you. Imagine, me getting to kiss the girl of my dreams whenever I want? You've made my life magical."

Mira wiped away a stray tear. "And now you're leaving."

Blue pursed his lips. "I don't want us to have to suffer through a long distance relationship. I think that you should give me my key card back. You deserve better than having to wait for me, and I've seen the way you look at Freddie."

This was a side of Blue that Mirabelle had never seen before. It was almost like she was talking to a different person.

Mira nodded reluctantly and walked into her spacious closet. Inserting the key to the locked box, Mira cautiously took out the key card and handed it over to Blue. When she had finally pulled away and wasn't touching the Dream key card, her mind was wiped. She fought to remember the number of Blue's cursed suite but couldn't. She gasped in shock and a blinding smile overtook her face. There was no chance of her ever getting murdered by Blue.

Looking at her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend's rejected face, she reached over and brushed her fingers along his stony expression. She lightly kissed him on the mouth, once, twice, three times before finally pulling away and escorting him to her front door.

"I love you," she whispered out into the dark night as Blue walked away.

"I love you more," Blue calls back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- I can't believe how much support I've been given over this story, considering that I didn't even know this many people read Kill Me Softly fanfictions. Sorry about not updating in a while, but school is sucking the life out of me! I'll try to update soon, pinky promise!**


	6. Chapter 6: here

Mira didn't think she was supposed to feel this much relief after breaking up with her boyfriend. Shouldn't she be crying her eyes out in her locked bedroom and watching Fault In Our Stars with her girlfriends and eating ice cream? She didn't have much practice at this kind of thing. Mira hadn't been the most popular in her previous town, before all of this fairytale stuff took over her life, and she didn't know what she was supposed to feel after breaking up with the guy she loved.

The next day was spent ignoring her friends' phone calls and wandering around town pushing Ari in a stroller. Okay, so maybe when she saw Rafe in the window of a restaurant she ducked behind the next corner to stay out of his eyesight. She didn't need them asking her any questions about the mysterious disappearance of the supposed love of her life. Especially Freddie.

Oh no, Freddie. She promised to have dinner with his family tomorrow night. Could she face him now that she was single and free to flirt with him without feeling guilty about it? No, probably not. She had already put him through so much rejection that he'd probably think he was the rebound or reserve choice. Sometimes Mira wished that Freddie wasn't her knight in shining armor, her fairytale prince, because she definitely didn't deserve him. He deserved a real princess, not a messed up girl playing dress up.

Ari woke up from her nap and became restless, wriggling her body around in her tight cocoon of blankets, but she still didn't make a peep. Sometimes Mira wished that the baby would cry like a normal newborn. Was she mute or just unable to cry for some reason?

While Mira was contemplating why her godmothers' new charge didn't cry, Freddie turned the corner and almost ran smack dab into Ari's stroller.

Freddie let out an '_oof_' as he jumped to the side to avoid colliding with the baby. Mira froze in her spot and her breath quickened as she began to panic. _I was trying to avoid Freddie, not run into him! _Mira thought.

Freddie let out a cautious grin when he saw that Mira wasn't jogging away from him. "Uh, hey Mira. Fancy running into you."

Mira closed her eyes in disbelief. "Rafe saw me and called you, didn't he?"

A blush bloomed on her prince's cheeks. He had been caught in the act.

"We're just worried about you, that's all. Blue left us all notes saying that he was being sent to London. I didn't know if he told you as well or..."

Now it was Mira's turn to blush as Freddie stared at her imploringly. Mira shuffled her feet awkwardly as she stared at a low hanging branch from a tree. "He came over last night. We decided to break up. Long distance relationships just weren't in the cards for us, I guess."

Freddie's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean that you and Blue are-?"

"-Over. Yes." Mira couldn't keep eye contact because just one glimpse of his ecstatic face made her want to blush and hold his hand. She wasn't in middle school. She could deal with Frederick Knight. And his perfect hair, perfect eyes, and perfect body.

Birds began to tweet overhead, completing Freddie's image of "fairytale boy dream-come-true."

Mira cleared her throat awkwardly and gestured to Ari in her stroller. "I should probably get her home. It's getting pretty cold outside."

Freddie blinked dazedly from his ecstasy. "Oh, right, of course. Could I escort you home? I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."

His formality surprised Mira. She shrugs. "Sure, why not? Very chivalrous of you."

He shrugs his response and walks side by side with her on the sidewalk. As they're approaching her house, Layla stands up from Mira's front steps and runs over to them. They see the tear tracks on her cheeks and immediately get concerned.

"It's happening," she whispers before collapsing into Freddie's arms as she sobs.

* * *

><p>Layla spends the night at Bliss and Elsa's that night, surrounded by calming tea with honey and smooth jazz music. She's cocooned like baby Ari and placed in Mira's bed for the night. Mira sleeps on the daybed in Ari's nursery, surrounded by the calming music that Bliss and Elsa play every night for the baby. Freddie went to find Rafe, who was barricaded in his mansion trapped in the form of a hairy beast.<p>

A dark fairy disguised as an old beggar woman had asked him for money, but Rafe had said no. Thus the transformation. Layla knew that it wouldn't be long before she would have to rescue her father from Rafe's imprisonment and stay there for good.

Mira and Freddie agreed to meet the next day for dinner with his family. Bliss and Elsa were treating it like a school dance, with promises of couple pictures and fancy clothing.

But the teenagers couldn't focus on anything else besides their best friends' predicament.

Layla, Mira, Blair, Jewel, and Viv were all snuggled up in Viv's bed the next day watching sad movies. Mira pictured the cliche girl sleepover and realized that it looked like this. Empty containers of ice cream littered the floor, and candy wrappers filled the small trashcan. DVD cases were strewn throughout the room, and the girls all had stuffy noses and wet eyes from the amount of crying they had been doing.

It was Viv's idea actually. All of them had gone through their curses, some still going through them, and they wanted to help Layla out as best they could.

Rafe wouldn't let Freddie or Henley into the house, the shame of his beastly form keeping him away from his friends. Bliss, Elsa, and Salya all tried to think of ways of lightening the curse, but the next birthday was Jewel's and it was around two months away. Also, Elsa had already promised to use her birthday wish to lighten Jewel's curse and keep her from being in so much pain during her jewel-vomiting.

Layla had given up all hope, saying that she should accept her fate sooner rather than later. The girls tried to console her as best she could, but Layla was brokenhearted over the future loss of her freedom, and not even the fairies knew how to change her fate.

Mira rubbed Layla's back soothingly. "Perhaps you'll change him for the better. Isn't that how the story goes? He changes and becomes the man of your dreams?"

Layla sniffled. "The last curse like mine was a few years before I was born. The girl had fallen in love with the beast, but when he had turned back into a human he returned to his mean ways. The girl committed suicide three months later after catching him in bed with another girl. She was 17."

All the girls froze in place, not knowing what to say or how to react.

Mira bit her lip in thought. "Well it's a good thing you already know what Rafe is like then. If the curse breaks and he returns to his former ways, then you can dump him and move on. You won't let him stand in the way of your happiness. You are strong, you are powerful, and you are going to kick this curse's butt."

Viv raised up her milkshake. "Hear hear!"

* * *

><p>Mira took over 2 hours to get ready for her dinner with the Knights. She knew that she should make a good impression, so she asked Bliss and Elsa for help. Her hair was curled, sundress on, and small wedges buckled onto her feet.<p>

When she walked up the steps to the large monstrosity of a front door, Mira nearly tripped due to her nervousness. She quickly rapped on the door three times, hoping that no one would answer.

Freddie answered the door immediately.

When she was escorted inside like a princess at a ball, Mira began to panic. She became breathless and gripped Freddie's arm fearfully.

He smiled beseechingly at her. "It'll be fine. I promise."

Mrs. Knight hugged her tightly and Mr. Knight slapped her on the back lightly. They spent almost the entire dinner complimenting her on her looks, the way she carried herself, etc. Mira found out early on that she got along quite well with Freddie's parents. The awkwardness and forced smiles that she had pictured were nonexistent. Freddie glanced at her every few seconds, as if he needed to make sure she was still there and not running for the hills. After the tenth time of catching him staring at her, she raised her eyebrow and smirked at him challengingly. He blushed at getting caught.

She loved to make him blush.

Freddie escorted her to the door at the end of dinner, and Bliss was parked in her new family-friendly car down the road so that she couldn't spy on them. Mira made her promise when she dropped her off.

Her favorite Knight began to rub the back of his neck in nervousness when they stood together in silence.

"I had a good time," Mira began.

Freddie looked relieved. "Good. That's great. I'm glad."

She smiled at him. "Maybe we could do it again sometime."

He looked back at his house in disbelief, where his parents were obviously staring at them through the front window. "With me? And my parents?"

She took a step forward so that she was inches away from him. "Maybe next time could just be you and me."

"Like us? Together? Alone?" He looked baffled. His confusion made him even cuter.

Mira smiled up at him. "Definitely."

And then she reached up and closed the distance between them.

When their lips met, it was as magical as the first time. And the first time was when he woke her up from her cursed sleep in a hotel room full of dead bodies and surrounded by a cage of thorny vines. Lights lit up behind her closed eyes and she almost stopped breathing due to the strength of her feelings. Fireworks seemed to be going off in her head and she never wanted it to end.

And she will totally admit it. Her foot popped up.

That's right, everyone. Her, Mirabelle Lively, Sleeping Beauty reincarnate, had a Princess Diaries kiss cliche.

And she enjoyed it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Mira/Freddie fans, are you happy? I'm not sure how much time I'm going to be spending on the Rafe/Layla storyline since they were mostly background characters in the novel, but we'll see. I told you guys that I'd keep my pinky promise!**


	7. Chapter 7: to

Mira flailed in bed as she awoke from her nightmare. Her eyes darted around her quiet room, looking for a danger that wasn't present. She took steadying breaths, trying to calm her heartbeat. The Sleeping-Beauty dragged her fingers through her tangled hair and sighed. This was the third time this week that she had woken up due to nightmares that took her breath away and made her shriek and panic.

Untangling the knots of her hair with her fingers, Mira made her way across the hall to Ari's bedroom. Opening the door silently, she gasped in shock at the sight of the nursery. The pale blue walls were coated in ice, slowly climbing towards the ceiling at a lazy pace. Frost crunched under her feet as she made her way to the baby's crib. Arachne was silent, staring up with pale blue eyes at the icy world around her. Snowflakes, shining like little lights, fell from the ceiling and onto the baby, who cracked a toothless grin as the cold settled over her.

Mira jumped back from the crib as it turned as cold as ice. She ran toward Bliss's room and then Elsa's, screaming at them to help her in Ari's nursery. The fairies were as shocked as Mira when they noticed the condition of the bedroom. White magic began to swirl around the room, taking away the ice, frost, and snow from the small room. Warmth began to flood back into the bedroom, the wintry chill seeping away. Mira cautiously grabbed the baby from her back-to-normal crib and held her to her chest. Ari's pale skin was freezing to the touch, so Elsa and Bliss grabbed blankets and began swaddling her. The four girls spent the rest of the night in the living room, all silent.

* * *

><p>As sunrise turned the sky a pale pink, Mira was grabbing her pea coat and pulling on her boots. She wrapped herself in her scarf and grabbed the car keys from the rack by the front door. Mira made her way to the Down the Rabbit Hole tea shop for a steaming cup of chai tea. She settled into the back corner booth. Cupping her cold hands around the hot drink, the chill that had filled her since she walked into Ari's room began to be replaced by warmth.<p>

The bell above the door tinkled as a group of teenagers walked into the tea shop. When Mira saw who the kids were, she pulled her coat's hood over her head to hide her away from them. A stressed-looking Jewel, a panicked Freddie, a sleepy Viv, and a reluctant-looking Henley grabbed a small table and placed their orders. When they all had their drinks in their hands, Freddie began pulling his fingers through his hair.

"What are we going to do to fix this? Rafe won't let us in to talk and Layla doesn't even know if she wants to rescue her father from Rafe. This isn't how the story goes. Layla should be at Rafe's pleading for her father in exchange for her. If she never gives herself over, Rafe is going to be a hairy beast until another Belle-incarnate is born."

Jewel choked on her drink as a sapphire spilled from her lips. She placed it in her pocket before returning her stare to Freddie. "Can we force her there? If this keeps up much longer, it might be our only option."

Viv shook her head. "She's just scared. Don't forget, she knows Rafe. She knows what he's like. And now if she goes to that mansion, she's his forever. Layla teaching Rafe to love? Doesn't seem logical in her mind, and you know how much she loves logic."

Henley scratched at the back of his head. "We've all gone through our curses, some more than others," he said with a pointed look at a coughing Jewel. "She's going to have to suck up her pride at some point."

"Is it pride though? Or just fear that she won't succeed?" asked Freddie.

Jewel cringed. "So, what? We're supposed to build up her self-esteem before she becomes Rafe's slave? That's ridiculous."

Early birds began coming into the shop, causing enough noise to make Mira have difficulty hearing her friends. She stealthily made her way out of the shop and out to her car. Driving home, Mira had a crazy idea and pulled a quick U-turn in the road. As she started climbing at the fence behind Rafe's mansion, Mira was filled with fear. This could be one of her stupidest ideas yet. She pulled her leg over the top of the fence and began making her way down. She landed in the hidden rose garden that her and Freddie had been in just a few days ago.

A snarling sound from behind her caused Mirabelle to jump in surprise. She spun quickly, coming face to face with sharp teeth and a _ton _of hair.

At the sight in front of her, Mira tried to suppress her giggles, but she couldn't stop them from spilling out of her mouth. Her dimples appeared as she laughed until she couldn't breathe. She heard Rafe begin his mumbling and grumbling, which caused her to sober up.

She smiled up at him apologetically. "Sorry, Rafe. It's just that you look so _cute_! You're like a big furry thing that I want to pet! You're adorable!"

Rafe sat on his haunches, looking unimpressed. "Shut up," he mumbled out of his formerly snarling mouth.

She sat down across from him, peering at him from under her eyelashes. "You don't look terrible, just so you know. I think you look sweet." She reached over and began scratching behind his large ears, making him growl and her laugh.

He looked shy, probably for the first time in Rafe's life. "Is Layla with you?"

She tilted her head at him questioningly. "Do you want her to be?"

Rafe flinched. "Her dad won't stop trying to sell me things and trying to invest in stuff I've never even heard of. Also, I don't like being looked at like a fluffy dog."

Mira looked down at the ground, trying to hide her smile. "I didn't say you were a fluffy dog. I just said you were cute."

Rafe frowned. "Which is what you would say about a little fluffy dog."

"That's ridiculous! You're not little at all," said Mira with a laugh.

Rafe sighed at her amusement.

"Have you tried calling her?" implored Mira.

Rafe looked anywhere but her. "No, definitely not. I'm not desperate."

Mira raised a single eyebrow in disbelief. "Yes, you are."

Her big, hairy beast of a friend seemed to deflate at her words. "Yeah, I really, really am. I can' t look like this. Not when I know what I actually look like. I had a super hot date last night that I couldn't go on because I look terrible. Furry and sharp-toothed was not the outfit I was planning on wearing. She'd run away screaming."

She reached over and placed her hand on his hair arm. "I didn't run away screaming. And neither would Freddie and Henley. And neither would Layla."

He leaned into her touch, a puff of breath coming out of his mouth. "I know. I didn't want anyone to see me like this."

She stood up, brushing off the back of her leggings. "Call her," she commanded, staring down at him until he looked away.

"Fine," he groaned.

She patted his head. "Who's a good boy? You are! Yes, you are!" She used a baby voice to talk to him, as if he was a puppy or a baby.

He fell to his back to the stone ground, groaning. "I hate you so much."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for being so patient guys. Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8: relive

Mira pulled her comforter even tighter around her, shivering helplessly in bed. Ari was like an air conditioner that never stopped running, and whose dial to change the temperature was broken. Even with pants, socks, and a long sleeve shirt on, Mira was freezing.

Giving up, she threw her comforter off of her and put slippers on before walking outside to her car. She turned the heat up and reclined the seat to get more comfortable. When she turned her phone on, she noticed that she had ten missed calls, all from Layla. With a sense of foreboding, Mira pressed the call button. It rang twice before Layla answered breathlessly.

"Where have you been?!" her voice shrieked over the phone.

Mira groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Sleeping? Like a normal person?" She yawned, her eyes fluttering tiredly. "What's wrong, Layla?"

The Cursed Beauty sighed. "Rafe begged me to go to him. He said to call you if I didn't believe his intentions were true."

Mira opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the right response. "Well... Uh... I visited him earlier today and he is understandably frustrated with his current condition. He's not scary-looking or anything, just kind of... puppy-dog-ish."

Layla groaned. "But he treated me respectfully and kindly. He's never treated me that way before. Is it just to break the curse or is he actually trying for... I don't know... something more?"

The Sleeping Beauty sat up quickly from her reclined position. "Do you want there to be something more?"

Layla sputtered over the phone, "Don't be ridiculous, Mirabelle Lively! I know perfectly well that Happily Ever After is nonexistent. Might I point out that I've lived in this town far longer than you! But if there's a chance of Rafe and I being able to be civil after this, well..."

Mira bit her thumbnail, thinking. "I think that he needs you, Layla. And that he would rather live with you than your dad." Layla gave out a soft laugh. "But the whole point of this curse is to teach him to love. If you don't believe that Rafe can learn to love you, then how do you expect to break this curse?"

A soft sigh escaped from Layla. "I'm gonna sleep on it tonight and make my decision tomorrow. Thanks for talking this through with me, Mira. You're a good friend."

Mira heard a soft click, indicating that Layla had hung up. She got out of the car, phone in hand, deciding to try to go back to sleep for a little longer.

That is, until she saw the grinning face of Felix come out of the shadows.

* * *

><p>Mira didn't remember running to Freddie's house. She let instincts carry her, her feet slapping the dark pavement, her wheezing breaths filling the silence around her. She kept turning her head back, staring into the empty street behind her, somehow knowing that he was pursuing her.<p>

She careened to a stop underneath Freddie's window and began climbing up the vine lattice, clinging to the plant like a vice, praying to whoever would listen to not let her fall. She didn't want to be easy prey. She didn't want to be prey at all.

Her fist pounded against the window, her whispering voice begging him to let her in. His window opened suddenly, scaring her so bad that she let go of the vine. His hands grabbed her arms before she could fall to the yard below. Freddie pulled her into the safety of his room, his arms wrapping around her shivering frame.

"Mira? What happened? What's wrong?"

"Fe-Felix... He-He..." She couldn't get the words out, the terror affecting her vocal chords.

Freddie's eyes widened in understanding. He tightened the lock on his window and ran to lock his bedroom door before returning to her side. His warm hands rubbed up and down her arms, trying to put warmth into them. Her skin was freezing, a cold sweat covering her body.

He pulled her towards his bed and into his arms. Her head was pressed to his collarbone, his comforter pulled up to her chin.

"He came out of nowhere," Mira whispered. "He just appeared, smiling at me. I didn't know what to do, so I just started running."

"I'll protect you," Freddie promised. He grabbed his sword out of its scabbard and propped it up against the wall within easy reach.

Mira burrowed under the covers, pulling Freddie with her. She placed his right arm over her onto her stomach and placed her hand over his, in a loose spooning position. "If he comes after me," Mira said quietly, "he won't stop until one of us is dead." Freddie's arm tightened around her and pulled her closer until her back hit his chest.

"I won't let him near you, I swear. We'll call everyone in the morning and inform them that Felix has returned. Maybe your godmothers can put protection spells on you or something?"

Mira felt Freddie's warmth through her shirt. She snuggled as close as possible to him. "Maybe," she whispered doubtfully.

* * *

><p><strong>Hi! I'm so sorry it's been so long. It's been almost 7 months and I'm sorry if you've been impatiently waiting! I have a quick question for y'all. Have you read book 2, Tear You Apart, yet? It's not as good as the first, but I still enjoyed it. Another question... Are Bliss and Elsa in a relationship? Or are they sisters? Very close friends? I'm really curious to know, since in my story they are raising two kids together. Comment and let me know!<strong>

**Raegan**


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